blog snobbery - how to send readers running away from your web log

If your blog has even one regular reader, you too can be a blog snob. A blog snob is a super-important blogger who knows it and makes sure the rest of the world does too. A blog snob doesn’t come out and say “Hey, look at me! I’m super-important!” No, blog snobs simply exude importance through their actions.

In the past you had to start a movement, invent a useful web-tool, come up with a catchy web-cliché or be published in order to achieve blog snobbery. Well not anymore!

Ah, Sulz, that is interesting. I've wondered about this before. Is it your opinion that every comment should be replied to with an answer? I've seen this done, but feel this often tends to turn your comments into a forum.

If people ask a question I definitely answer, but am unsure whether I should do that on my or their blog (seeing that I can't expect them to check back). CoComment certainly helps, but I still don't see much people using it.

Continous thanking and agreeing doesn't seem to be the way to go either, really.

nodependencies: i'm glad you asked that question, because then i can expound on my comment.

my idea of commenting etiquette is, reply a first-time commenter on your blog in your blog. generally commenters will check back to see if the blog owner has reply in a day or two.

if he replies your reply, you are in no obligation to reply anymore, but you should if you feel you have something substantial to comment abt. otherwise it's ok not to, because you have already replied his first comment. think of it as in a telephone conversation, he says bye, you say bye. he doesn't need to repeat bye anymore does he?

if you want to make a comment based on someone's blog, and your comment is long you should make a post in your own blog and send a trackback to his blog.

btw, i hate cocomment - i always forget to click the button in my bookmark. i rather if wp could make such a feature but it automatically tracks it when you're logged in rather than having to click some button everytime you want to comment.

Good pointers there Sulz, esp. about the first time visitors. I am going to try and implement that. It does seem afwully rude not to thank someone for their comment, even when there isn't much to add to the conversation.

CoComment does have a Firefox extension that automatically adds a coComment tag field. Now I'm trying out Flock, though, and I'm back to right-clicking - which I obviously forget most of the time, hehe.

I registered for co-comment and have since adandoned it even though I have a firefox browser. I do not choose to have all the extensions and add-ons one can have on a firefox any more as it slowed my browser down. At this point I'm very selective about extensions, unless I use them I don't have them.

I reply to commnets on my own two blogs http://timethief.wordpress.com and http://bloggersblurt.wordpress.com. The first one is a political blog and the other is strictly for the purpose of creating and participating in dialogue. This does to some degree turn my blogs into a forum so I limit myself to responding just once to every commentator. I also send replies by email.

It's my opinion that if my comments are to increase dramatically [can you hear her lol?]the best way for me to handle my responses to them will be to email separate replies and wait for 2-3 days. Then I will post a brief cumulative summary on my blog reporting on all the separate email responses I made to commentators.

I hope everyone who visits the forum will use the link to blog snobbery 101. I think it'a brilliantly written article that's not only humourous but also "meaty".

Aren't comments meant to generate some kind of discussion though? If you email to your commentators how does one keep the conversation/dialogue alive?

It's probably unrealistic to reply to every single one, but one way a blogger whose blog I regularly contribute to does it is to do a general comment as well as individual ones - so she will do one comment but speak to maybe 3 posters within it. Seems like a good compromise. Hers is a team blog and we are a team of contributers so chances are someone will comment on a post anyway.

I reply to single comments in my post. I'm using cocomment, nothing wrong with it. I generally like conversation, it's how my blog is. Replying to a comment is kind of a respect. It's really up to you if you make it like a thread. If someone doesn't need comments on their blog then I think they should disable the commenting and just keep on blogging, nothing wrong with that.

Conversation is one way of creating friends in this blogosphere, off topic or not, it still is considered valid, besides it's your own blog, people can do anything they like with it.

I truly respect everyone who doesn't like such thing as replying, people who view this as negative are just being hypocrite.

Personally, I think people should have the freedom to reply (or not reply) to comments on their blog as they see fit. You can impose whatever rules you want on your own blog, but I don't think I have the right to dictate to other people how they should run things on theirs.

knoizki: there isn't anything wrong with cocomment except execution perhaps - having to click on it constantly is obviously very strenous on poor-memory individuals like me who cannot for her life remember to click on the bookmark button before pressing submit... and i realise i visit the blogs i've commented before i go to the cocomment website itself, so kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it? now if wp has it in dashboard which is the first place i visit online every morning...

excellent idea abt turning off comments if they don't care for them - that way readers won't waste their time. however, i think ppl generally enjoy receiving comments even though they do not think of the enjoyable favour they can return by replying...

it's splendid that you're such a respectful person of ppl's prerogatives, but how am i being a hypocrite by saying what i think? care to explain?

wank: i don't think anyone here is trying to impose and "dictate to other people how they should run things on theirs", merely putting their two bits in, and bloggers already have that freedom of replying or not. you never know, with this lively discussion, we might convert a non-replier to a replier after seeing it from the perspectives of commenters who do not get reciprocated. but i appreciate your two cents nonetheless. :-)

drmike: fair game to you - you have a valid reason for not replying, but maybe you could inform them, that way you could save an email or two... besides if they're really sincere abt solving their problem they would probably email you anyway.

britgirl: excellent question posed to knoizki. though one doesn't 'invite' commenters as such, but the fact that comments are not disabled gives an impression that comments are welcomed doesn't it? as you have suggested knoizki, ppl who don't like replying comments may want to consider disabling comment.

i leave this excellent analogy from a blog i've stumbled across to further explain the way i feel abt commenting and replying.

I believe there are manners associated with blogging too. Visiting someone's blog, to me, is like going over to a friend's or a stranger's house to listen to what he or she wishes to share. I either agree, or disagree with an entry. In most cases, I'd rather agree since the whole idea about blogging is to make friends, not enemies. Of course you can disagree and still remain friends but there is a set of manners how to disagree.

Since I have a lot of free time, I usually login the blogs I visited the day before to see if the host has up-dated an entry, or have taken the time to reply to the comments. It's nice to read the reply, really. I enjoy it. It gives me the sense that the host acknowledges my presence and he or she is kind enough to engage a stranger like me in a conversation. It may be a short one but it is a conversation nonetheless. Now this, to me, is manners. A common courtesy.

I believe it is good manners to acknowledge someone who has just said something to you. It shows you appreciate his or her effort to get to know you. I have stopped visiting blogs where the host doesn't bother to acknowledge your comment. I consider this rude. It leaves me with the impression that the host doesn't need my friendship. For all I know he doesn't even want you to read the entry in the first place. He might even consider you a pest for coming in and leaving comments as if there is a prize for doing that. I was surpirsed that famous people like Yasmin or Afdlin took the trouble to reply to a comment. That's humility and I have nothing but respect for people with such a personality.

To me this is the same as saying 'hello' to a stranger but instead of a smile, all you get is this blank stare from him as if you have just interrupted his line of thinking on the physics of how to turn water into fuel so the world doesn't have to depend on fossil fuel anymore.

It doesn't hurt to be courteous, friendly, warm and hospitable. It's a rude world out there.

Thanks for your eloquent and thought provoking post sulz. Lately the forum has been downright well, [yawn]...nuff said ...

It's always good to hear different points of view and to review our own.When you do that you can discover truths about yourself and make corrections to improve your own character and the way you interact with others.

I stand with wank. I am the creator of my blog. I am responsible for it's content. I'm responsible just as I would be if a guest were entering my home. I'm responsible to ensure that when I put out my welcome to my blog mat that an unsuspecting guest availing his or herself of my hospitalitity and having the courage to leave a comment is not in turn abused, ridiculed or personally attacked by myself or any other commenter.

On the other hand a polite thank you for your comment is also something I do for every comment.

Sulz - excellent points. I really like your analogy, that's how I see it. I think if someone has taken the time to read and comment (with the exception of cased like the image question of drmike of course) then I owe them the courtesy of a reply - even if that reply is thanks for dropping by/thanks for commenting.
And this part made me smile:)
"For all I know he doesn't even want you to read the entry in the first place. He might even consider you a pest for coming in and leaving comments as if there is a prize for doing that."

bg: me too, but it's so true as well! i feel like that when the blogger doesn't reply my comments. but unlike the blogger i quoted from, i still go back to the blog whose owner doesn't reply comments, because i like the content - i just know better than to comment now.

tt: i know - i said stg like that in drmike's forum but i haven't check to see if anyone's agreed - i'm really glad some great blogging topics has come up now, esp i'm nearing the end of my holidays and near death by boredom! this keeps me occupied somewhat. let's hope for more controversial topics in the forum soon - i like hearing what ppl have to say.

Coach, we get a lot of blogging newbies around here. I don't mind the occasional thread about blogging or concepts behind blogging. Granted, it's a support forum but we're here to help each other out.

drmike: fair game to you - you have a valid reason for not replying, but maybe you could inform them, that way you could save an email or two... besides if they're really sincere abt solving their problem they would probably email you anyway.

I actually went back and put in a disclaimer at the end of the FAQ stating how I felt about those leaving comments and how it appears that most of them show that they didn't read it. I know Podz, when emailed or when he gets a comment replys with a 'I will only answer questions in the forums' response and I probably should as well. The problemn with email is that, since I do webhosting as well, my inbox usually averages well over a hundred emails in any given day as the support system we use drops tickets into my inbox. Since I'm replying anyway, I usually go ahead and answer if it's something simple or direct them to the forums or the Feedback system if its more detailed.

Is it possible that two very different kinds of comments are being discussed in this thread? I believe most of us in this thread are new to blogging and we were discussing the pros and cons of moderating the comments that readers of our blogs leave on our blogs - but drmike you and coachcyrus seem to be having a completely different conversation.

sulz asked if having this discussion was okay with you. I think we're all clear that it's a very low priority for you. What I don't understand is what coach is offering to the dialogue. I really don't get what contribution he's trying to make.